The present invention relates to communication systems and methods, and more particularly, is a multi-media network-based communication system and method primarily for training sports officials.
Quality sports officiating results from having an experienced, well-trained staff of sports officials. One of the primary techniques presently employed to train sports officials involves taping sports games, selecting from the taping instructive plays, and providing video tapes of such plays to the sports officials for review. Plays of instructive value include those where: 1) an official's call was inaccurate; 2) a similar game situation has been dissimilarly officiated; 3) a player in violation of a game rule has discovered a way to avoid having a call made against them; or 4) the subject game situation occurs infrequently or involves resolving complex game rules. Typically, a training authority for a sports league tapes the games, selects the desired plays, and provides the instructional tapes to their field of officials, along with a description of the lessons demonstrated by the accompanying tapes.
This training scheme has several drawbacks, each resulting from the common sports league practice of employing a large field of officials that either live in the different cities having sports venues, or travel around the country (on a weekly basis) to their assigned games. In other words, the intended recipients of the instructional tapes (i.e., the officials) are many, spread out across the country, and frequently, in transit from one city to another to officiate.
As a result, a separate instructional tape must be made for every official in the league. As is commonly the case, there are many league officials, meaning that the cost to purchase tapes is not insignificant. Adding to this is the notion that such training tapes must be prepared and distributed every week during the sports season, to cover the latest officiating pointers from the previous week's games. Moreover, there are considerable added costs to priority ship the tapes on a weekly basis across the country to every official. Aside from the cost issue in preparing and shipping the tapes across the country each week to every official, it has been difficult to successfully coordinate the tape shipments with the officials' hectic travel schedules. Consequently, despite the heavy investment in time and money to prepare and ship the tapes, officials frequently fail to receive the latest tapes in a timely manner, which may impact the quality of their officiating.
Supplementing the tapes in the training effort, the league's training authority frequently sends tests and recent rule clarifications to its staff of officials. Presently, such tests are sent out by priority mail to the officiating staff, and the completed tests are similarly returned to the training authority for evaluation. The scheme in use today to disseminate rule clarifications to the officials involves explanation by way of telephone call or facsimile report. The burdensome cost and coordination issues noted above with respect to the preparation and shipping of training tapes also apply to these latter two training techniques.
Thus, there is a need for a multi-media network-based communication system and method for training sports officials.